Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said he believes Britain gave Pakistan "tacit approval" to torture terrorism suspects.

In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation, Musharraf said Britain never clearly demanded that Pakistani intelligence officials should not torture British citizens. He said that implied Britain wanted Pakistan to "continue to do whatever we were doing."

A British citizen of Ethiopian descent was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 for allegedly plotting a terrorist attack and was later detained at Guantanamo Bay. He has claimed that he was tortured by Pakistani intelligence officials and that Britain's Security Services, or MI5, knew about his treatment.

Former MI5 Director General Elizabeth Manningham-Buller has denied Musharraf's claims. Musharraf was president of Pakistan from from 1999 until 2008 and was a key U.S. ally in its fight against al-Qaida. He now lives in Britain in self-imposed exile.